Boa Constrictor Imperator Nicaragua (Superhypo / T+ couple)

**Tsubaki** · 10-11-15, 02:03 PM

Not to leave my 2 Nicaragua boa's out of the update, also mobile phone pictures. thought i'd do a little update as a couple. Renji (Super Hypo male) turned 5 this year, he is going through a bit of a dark phase. Stranger thing is, he is losing pigment in places. Most prominently on his head (will add a picture), at first i though it was stuck shed but the scales look perfectly healthy/clean. No idea why or how, it has become more noticeable the past 2 sheds. Doesn't seem to bother him, his behavior hasn't changed. He eats and sheds fine, i will just wait and see what happens. Adulthood is doing him good, he is calming down a bit. A little less frequent attempted bitings occur, unless i touch him, he is very big on the 'no touching' thing. He hasn't changed much in size as he is an adult, but his 2 year old lady friend Rukia (T+ Albino) has already caught up in size, and is actually thicker than he is already. She has more than doubled in size since she got here, her love for me hasn't grown at all though... If anything she seems to hate me more every day

She now no longer hisses, just tries to bite me right way. Such a tense little creature..

Here's a side by side, an interesting couple if you ask me!

**Tsubaki** · 10-12-15, 01:46 AM

I could take a picture of Renji three times a day, and he would look different each time. Picture taken this morning, took a turn for the lighter and he was a slightly more greenish brown color.

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-12-15, 12:50 PM

Huh. What do you feed him, and do you notice any weird stools?

I've heard of fatty rats causing health issues in boas, including loss of color in scales, bloating, runny stools, and death. They can't digest fatty foods so it can affect them very strongly. Usually the fatty rats cause diarrhea and gross-smelling stools, though.

So with that said, I don't think this is that?

The color loss is very strange, and most likely is either diet or temp-related even if it's not fatty rats. I don't think you've got a calico boa, so most likely not a normal thing.

**Tsubaki** · 10-13-15, 01:30 AM

He eats fully weened halfgrown rats, never seen fatty or fast grown rats from this supplier, always slender and healthy looking. He has normal stool, firm and not particularly smelly. He eats about once every 2 weeks, no issues. No change in behaviour whatsoever, doing what he always does.. Same rats my T+ gets btw, but she eats once a week. No issues there either, they're hooked on the same thermostat, same type of heating (rhp hooked to 4 phase thermostat). Already checked his stool for just about anything i can, nothing strange at all. No external parasites either..He looks healthy beside those scales, acts healthy, there could be an underlying condition but if he does i somehow doubt its related to his housing. As my other snakes seem fine (only problem i've had in ages is 1 bad shed). Might do a bloodtest later, it still is very odd.. wonder if it could be a genetic issue that took a while to show, ive seen an argentine boa that lost color to half his side in blotches. They coulndt find anything but it did die (it also stopped eating) on autopsy they found problems in the intestine, the walls had partially died and at some parts even stuck together blocking passage. Besides drawing some blood, and sending it to get tested (dont have the equipment) there is not much i can do but wait and see.

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-13-15, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsubaki

He eats fully weened halfgrown rats, never seen fatty or fast grown rats from this supplier, always slender and healthy looking. He has normal stool, firm and not particularly smelly. He eats about once every 2 weeks, no issues. No change in behaviour whatsoever, doing what he always does.. Same rats my T+ gets btw, but she eats once a week. No issues there either, they're hooked on the same thermostat, same type of heating (rhp hooked to 4 phase thermostat). Already checked his stool for just about anything i can, nothing strange at all. No external parasites either..He looks healthy beside those scales, acts healthy, there could be an underlying condition but if he does i somehow doubt its related to his housing. As my other snakes seem fine (only problem i've had in ages is 1 bad shed). Might do a bloodtest later, it still is very odd.. wonder if it could be a genetic issue that took a while to show, ive seen an argentine boa that lost color to half his side in blotches. They coulndt find anything but it did die (it also stopped eating) on autopsy they found problems in the intestine, the walls had partially died and at some parts even stuck together blocking passage. Besides drawing some blood, and sending it to get tested (dont have the equipment) there is not much i can do but wait and see.

1-2 weeks is a bit often for boas of their age, they seem to have good body tone, though. Don't think that would cause the issues you're seeing, though.

I would definitely get some tests, x-rays etc. Look for unusual fatty deposits around the organs (just in case), any blockages, high bacteria levels in the blood and gut, and anything else the vet would think could shed some light on the condition. Hopefully you won't turn up anything major, but best to be safe.

I have heard of boas losing their color completely periodically through their life with no known cause before returning to normal 1-2 years later and surviving, but there's also the horror stories that would cause me to err on the side of caution.

**Tsubaki** · 10-13-15, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

1-2 weeks is a bit often for boas of their age, they seem to have good body tone, though. Don't think that would cause the issues you're seeing, though.

I would definitely get some tests, x-rays etc. Look for unusual fatty deposits around the organs (just in case), any blockages, high bacteria levels in the blood and gut, and anything else the vet would think could shed some light on the condition. Hopefully you won't turn up anything major, but best to be safe.

I have heard of boas losing their color completely periodically through their life with no known cause before returning to normal 1-2 years later and surviving, but there's also the horror stories that would cause me to err on the side of caution.

I have no worries about their feeding schedule whatsoever, i monitor their weight and growth and have bred and raised a lot of CA's. I put Renji on a slightly heavier feeding schedule, because he lost a bit too much weight last season. (Ladies are a lot more interesting than eating) Will lower the feeding frequency to once a month when he has put that weight back on. The rats he gets are on the smallish side for him, he has been slowly re-gaining the weight. Rukia is only barely 2 years old, soon i will lower the frequency to once every 2 weeks.

And eventually to once a month. I have a phone consultation with the vet tomorrow, sadly my vet is a couple of hours drive away so when i have to work i can not just drop by for a consult. (Don't have a day off till sunday, and it's closed on sunday

). I will draw some blood and take a fresh stool sample straight from source as soon as his food bulge is gone, send it straight to the lab (he ate yesterday). Maybe they can find something i missed in the stool, or maybe the blood results will show anything.

Albert Clark · 10-13-15, 06:59 AM

I see he is in a tub. His normal enclosure is a pvc though right? It looks to me that the scale issue may come from him rubbing his head on the top of the enclosure where maybe there is moisture also. Maybe from inside the humid hide. If his head is touching the inside of the hide where there is condensation on the top is also a possibility.

**Tsubaki** · 10-13-15, 08:40 AM

He does not have a humid hide, he has never needed one. He was only in that tub for cleaning purposes, my terrariums ventilation allow no condensation to form. Think you're confused with my burmese python. The only pvc tub i have is where he temporarily lives, untill im done with construction of his home. The rest all lives in my terrarium flat.

Albert Clark · 10-13-15, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsubaki

He does not have a humid hide, he has never needed one. He was only in that tub for cleaning purposes, my terrariums ventilation allow no condensation to form. Think you're confused with my burmese python. The only pvc tub i have is where he temporarily lives, untill im done with construction of his home. The rest all lives in my terrarium flat.

Not confused at all. Just offering up informative possibilities from experience. My pied female had the same scale issue in and on the exact same spot on her head. I was really sure it came from her squeezing into her hide that was really too small for her. She was also living in a small enclosure at the time as well. I kept the area on her head clean and used neosporin ointment on it and it cleared up gradually. Completely went away when I moved her into the rack system.

prairiepanda · 10-13-15, 10:53 AM

Beautiful Nics! Love how clean Rukia is, but Renji's blotchiness really makes him stand out. Very cool. Hope Renji's pigment loss turns out not to be anything serious! I agree that some diagnostic tests would be a good idea, just to be safe.

**Tsubaki** · 10-13-15, 05:20 PM

Confusion about the type of housing he has (as i barely use pvc) didn't mean anything by it

. Were the scales of your snake damaged by rubbing/scraping or just discoloured? Sounds interesting, curious if it was the same for you. He has no damage whatsoever on the scales themselves, it really is a change / loss of pigmentation. I've inspected his head with a magnifying glass, he loved me for that btw... Still going to get bloodwork checked out. Deep in the back of my mind it doesnt make sense that rubbing against anything in his current home, could've caused pigmentation loss. He doesn't really have acces to anything he can squeeze hard in / against, his hiding places are fairly spacious. I'll just keep hoping it's nothing serious, ive heard of random color loss before with nothing being found, and it clearing up later... wonder what the vet will say.

**Tsubaki** · 10-19-15, 11:11 PM

His blood and stool were clean, but this morning i found him doing something very naughty. He had Squeezed himself on top of the rhp!! It has a tiny tiny gap, Rukia couldn't get on top, and he couldn't get on top of his. But he's in Rukias terrarium now, and apparently her rhp gap is slighty bigger than his! I usually feed at night, now i fed early morning. He could have been doing that every night, scraping himself on the edges without me noticing (he can't burn himself in the morning btw, they never get hot enough to burn). Lured him down with food, took the rhp off n bent the brackets a bit more. If he can still get on I'll have to fix it somehow...

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-20-15, 04:01 PM

Bad snake! lol

Well hopefully it clears up once that problem is fixed up.

Glad to hear he came clean, though. A clean vet bill is always a good thing to see.

**Tsubaki** · 10-21-15, 04:08 AM

He hasn't been able to get on top anymore, i'm hoping it stays that way

**Tsubaki** · 11-01-15, 06:04 AM

Lill booger Renji still managed to get on top, he had to come out of his terrarium anyway as i want to start preparing it for the backwall building. I fixed up my homemade snake-rack last week, decided to move both of them into it. They actually seem to like it a lot, Rukia has not hissed since she moved into it, and i managed to snap a quick picture without any nipping (Just some visual annoyance with my presence, tail wagging, backing up) Seriously considering keeping them in plastic tubs, as they seem more comfortable. (Rukia would need a bigger one, but i have one thats 2x as big as these that goes on top) I'll think about it. On this picture it's pretty visible why i am feeding Renji weekly currently, he is a bit on the thin side. The rest of the rack is empty, i have a lot of empty snake residences (about 9 currently), not sure if ill ever fill them, haven't run into anything with the 'wow' factor for me.